Iowa and Suriname are almost exactly the same size
Iowa (state of the United States) covers about 145,000 km² (56,200 mi²) and Suriname (South America) about 145,000 km² (56,000 mi²). Their outlines are laid over each other below at one scale.
- 145,000km²Iowa
- 145,000km²Suriname
100 km
- Iowa
- Suriname
What fits
- Suriname is 100% of the size of Iowa.
- The measured areas differ by 323 km², less than half a percent: closer than the measurement itself is certain.
- Measured in Belgiums: Iowa is about 4.74, Suriname about 4.73.
How they differ
- Iowa also has the larger population: 3.2 million against 563,000, 5.66× as many people.
- Per square kilometre that is 22 in Iowa against 3.9 in Suriname: Iowa is 5.65× as densely populated.
- Their centres are about 5,620 km apart.
- A standard web map misstates the comparison: Iowa at 42°N is drawn about 1.8× too large and Suriname at 4°N about 1.0×, so the map shows Iowa as 1.81× the size of Suriname instead of 1.00×.
- Together Iowa and Suriname cover 291,000 km², close to the size of Philippines (293,000 km², 0.9% bigger).
- At Suriname's density, Iowa would have 565,000 people (it has 3.2 million). At Iowa's density, Suriname would have 3.2 million (it has 563,000).
- Iowa's centre is 37.9° of latitude, about 4,220 km, farther north than Suriname's.
- Iowa is the 26th largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States and covers 1.5% of its area; it is the 35th most densely populated of them.
- Suriname ranks 95th of 246 countries and territories by area.
- Iowa lies about 38° of latitude (roughly 4,220 km) north of Suriname.
- Shared out evenly, each person in Iowa would have about 45,590 m² and each person in Suriname about 257,580 m².
- Laid side by side, Iowa and Suriname would cover 291,000 km², about the same size as the Philippines.
- Together they have 3.8 million people, about as many people as Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Counted as a country, Iowa would rank 94th by area and 137th by population.
Side by side
| Iowa | Suriname | |
|---|---|---|
| Is a | StateUnited States | CountrySouth America |
| Area, measured | 145,000 km²56,200 mi² | 145,000 km²56,000 mi² |
| Official area | 146,000 km²Wikidata | 163,000 km²Wikidata |
| Rank by area | 26th of 51in the United States | 94th of 239worldwide |
| Population | 3.2 millionWikidata, 2020 | 563,000Wikidata, 2017 |
| Rank by population | 31st of 51in the United States | 170th of 237worldwide |
| Density | 22 per km² | 3.9 per km² |
| Capital | Des Moines | Paramaribo |
| Latitude range | 40°N to 44°N | 2°N to 6°N |
Population: Wikidata 2020 and Wikidata 2017. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).
- Wikidata's official figure of 146,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 145,000 km², to within 2%.
- Our measured 145,000 km² is 11% below Wikidata's official figure of 163,000 km². Official figures can include inland water or count land that an outline draws differently. This difference is flagged for review.
Similar in size to Iowa
Similar in size to Suriname
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Sources and method
- Outlines
- Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain for the region; Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
- Boundary
- De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. A region is drawn whole, every island included; a country is its main territory.
- Area
- Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded.
- Drawing
- Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
- Data built
- 2026-11-12